Monthly Archives: September 2013

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In an effort to regain her independence and break out of her shell, shy Eve Ward writes a daring wish list of all the things she wants to do before her thirtieth birthday. It’s a good thing the list is for her eyes only, because some of the items are pretty risqué.

Adrenaline junkie Lucas Riley becomes Eve’s “victim” in a kiss-a-stranger dare, and she thinks he’s perfect for her one-night-with-a-stranger wish.

With Eve, Lucas thinks he’s found the distraction he needs before he has to say goodbye to his bad boy image. When he finds Eve’s sexy wish list, he can’t keep himself from giving into temptation and sneaking a peek, and wish number eight is impossible for him to resist. Being good can wait.

Eve is thrilled when, out of the blue, Lucas offers to take her skydiving. Her sexy stranger has helped her tick so many wishes off her secret list. Her confidence has grown and now she’s having fun both in and out of the bedroom. It seems too good to be true…is it? She can’t shake the niggling suspicion that something’s not quite right.

Content Warning: contains dizzying heights and sensual sex

Excerpt:

“Wait.”

Eve froze mid-turn, halted by his husky command and the tingle radiating from his hand lightly grasping her wrist. She met his gaze and realized how wrong she’d been. He was a million miles away from being uncomplicated. The startling blue of his eyes revealed depths Eve could only imagine drowning in.

“Did you say…nice?” He leaned closer. “I would say that was a lot better than nice. I’m sure if we tried again we could manage spectacular. Don’t you agree?” he drawled.

Maybe nice had been the wrong word to choose Eve relented as she noted his husky tone. It was infinitely better than nice.Try amazing! Her breath hitched as she thought of his kiss again. Knowing he enjoyed it too sent a surge of pleasure through her that settled deep within her belly. Obviously she could do some things right.

If she intended to fulfill her wishes she was going to have to find some confidence from somewhere—and fast! At the moment her confidence seemed to be firmly in the area of her knickers.

Running and hiding now seemed out of the question. Maybe confidence practice would be the lesser of two evils? She paused before facing Mr. Hotness for confidence lesson one.

“Hmm…” She pretended to consider. “Maybe you’re right. However, as this was a dare I’m afraid it was a one time opportunity,” she added with mock apology. “So I guess we’ll never know.”

“You kissed me for a dare?” His brow arched.

Eve nodded. “Uh-huh. My dare was to kiss a stranger.”

“A dare, huh? I feel so…so violated.” He clutched his free hand to his chest in feigned hurt, although his eyes brimmed with humor and a smile tugged at the corner of his delicious mouth.

“Don’t be offended. I did actually choose you,” she blurted before forgetting her cool, calm, and confident aim.

“So you really thought you could violate me then run?”

“That was my plan, yes,” she said with a confidence she didn’t quite feel, especially as she was distracted by the thumb lightly stroking her wrist.

“And I didn’t even try to play hard to get. Guess you got lucky.”

“Or maybe you did,” she countered without thought, mortified as a blush warmed her cheeks at his responding grin.

“Tell me, do you like to be dared?”

Her eyes widened at the loaded question. “I…I find a challenge hard to resist.”

A devourer of books from an early age, I spent much of my childhood stepping into wardrobes, searching for that magical snowy world where conversing with animals would be expected. When I wasn’t searching for those worlds, I wrote about them instead. My first step into the world of romance was when I stole sneak peeks into my nana’s books. I’m still in that world and refuse to leave.

I live in Staffordshire, UK, with my husband and three wonderful children. An avid reader and writer of romance, I strongly believe that words make the world go around.

Happy Hump Day Hook! On this weekly tour around the blogosphere, a group of authors share a small bit of their WIPs or already released works. Click the icon to discover your next great read!

This week I was at a loss of what to post because I’m deep in rewriting mode and can’t think beyond that. With the deadline approaching, I decided on something from a freebie flash fiction piece, I wrote last year – After Party. (please note I’m in the process of revising, so it’s a little different than what is available as a nook book)

**The party for Daniel and his wife, Leslie, begins after the guests have left**

Leslie had to have known he was tired when she asked his opinion about the third outfit that she modeled at the foot of their bed. After all, he’d spent the previous four nights at the station house, battled a blaze in the next town over and come home to hundreds of strangers bustling though his house and across his yard. She could have cut him some slack.

Struggling to keep his eyes open, he hadn’t meant to use the word matronly as she spun in a gauzy blue gown with her hair pulled into what looked like a black doughnut on top of her head. He’d only meant to think it.

When he had fully awoken anticipating her promised welcome home attention, she was gone.

Next up is a short story about a weekend encounter between co-workers. I was inspired by an actual event between me and a friend (really he’s one of my best friends).

After leaving one of our favorite lunch time designations, we both noticed an odd look from the valet.

I turned to my gorgeous, bronzed friend and asked, “Do you think he thinks we’re together?”

“Uh, uh, he’s probably thinking, ‘I wonder if she knows he’s gay and it doesn’t matter how many times she flips her hair over her shoulder?’”

There was an expletive for my friend while we waited for his car to be pulled in front of the restaurant, but it got me thinking about the idea of the ‘work boyfriend’.

This is the dangerous male, whether alpha, beta or gamma, that women spend eight to ten hours a day with.

They know exactly what we like because there is no pre-dating pretense involved. Human Nature says that they will provide those amenities in order to get what they want. Hence my friend treated me to sushi (not his favorite) knowing that I’d reciprocate with completing his data entry prior to leaving early on a sunny Friday afternoon.

But my writer’s mind stepped ahead. What if it were much more than that?

The end of the year of short story, yet untitled was born!

Stay tuned on that front.

In the meantime, there is The Beginning of Forever to keep you warm and tingling:

It’s time for the Hump Day Hook! A group of authors sharing a small bit of their WIPs or already released works. Click the icon to discover your next great read!

This RAW snippet comes from a WIP novella, I hope to complete by Christmas submission time in 2014 so by the end of June or late July 2014….August 2014 if I limit my publishing options. In this exchange, Ada Haynes is checking into a bed and breakfast in her ex-husband’s home town of Willow Springs, GA during the Christmas holiday.

“Well, I used to visit this area with my ex-husband and we always ate there.”

At the word, husband, Mr. Ballard cocked his head to the side at a sharp angle that swung his hair into his suddenly nquisitive eyes. “Is that right?”

Willow Spring was a small town tucked high in the mountains of Georgia. A local husband most likely meant that she’d been married into one of the few residing African-American families. She hadn’t.

Ada let his mind tick over the possibilities, unable to contain the width of the smile straining her against her cheeks. She’d always enjoyed the shock of someone finding out that she’d been married to a member of one of the town’s founding families, Tolbert McCrae. “And the lights in the square, do they still have those?”

Amy and Brett have been friends since they were kids; and their friendship has withstood the test of time. But can it withstand Brett’s fiancée, Vanessa?

Brett Hudson has often wondered what it would be like to be more than Amy’s friend, but when he’s chosen as the newest professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars, he meets Vanessa, one of the shows costume designers and it’s a whirlwind romance that ends in a wedding proposal. As the big day draws closer, Brett begins to think that marrying Vanessa might be a bad idea. She wants him to give up Amy. Completely. Will he give up his best friend for the woman he’s supposed to marry?

Amy King is heartbroken to learn that Brett is marrying another woman. But, when Brett is jilted at the altar, he begs Amy to go on his honeymoon with him. A week on a tropical island with her best friend, the man she’s fantasized about for years is a dream come true for Amy. But when Brett suggests crossing the line from friends to lovers, Amy is reluctant. Will she risk years of friendship for one night of passion?

“It’s because you go for the wrong type of guy,” Brett said matter-of-factly, pouring a third shot down his throat. “Those muscle bound jocks are all bark and no bite. They look good on the outside, but they’re a mess on the inside.”

Amy threw a piece of ice at him and laughed. “And the goody two shoes, school teacher types you date are much better?”

“Nope.” He grinned. “Which is why we’re both still single.”

She sighed. “Yeah, so much for my dream of having kids.”

“You’re young. I’m sure you’ll find someone.” He drank his last shot and chased it with his beer.

“I’m thirty, Brett. By the time I find a man, date him, and get married, I’ll be an old hag with no viable eggs.”

The thought of Amy finding a man to marry and have kids with didn’t sit well with him. He couldn’t stomach the thought of losing her. “I’ll tell you what.” He leaned across the table and pointed at her. “Three years from now, if neither of us are married, I’ll marry you and give you as many babies as you want.” Brett’s words were slurred. Yup. He was definitely drunk. He wouldn’t have made that proposition otherwise.

“Yeah right.” Amy rolled her eyes. “You and me? That would be like fucking my brother. Thanks, but no thanks.”

He flinched at her words. “You think of me as your brother?” That bothered him a lot more than it should, especially considering he’d never once thought of her as a sister.

She shrugged. “We’re best friends. How else would I think of you?” Amy glanced away, and then set her gaze on him again. “Why? How do you think of me?”

Oh shit! He hadn’t expected the conversation to backfire on him like that. What was he supposed to tell her? That he thought of her as a best friend that he wanted to fuck? No, he definitely couldn’t tell her that. “As a friend, I guess. I don’t know. It’s not like I sit around and think about how I should think of you. You’re Amy.”

“And you’re drunk.”

“Maybe a little.” He grinned. “So, do we have a deal or what?”

Author Bio:

Kara is a multi-published romance author who dabbles in young adult, new adult, paranormal, and contemporary romances. However, her genre of choice will always be erotic romance. She’s a member of the CNY Writers Haven and the Romance Writers of America. Writing is her passion and she loves to share her knowledge and enthusiasm with her fellow authors and her fans.

Today, Kara resides in Upstate New York with her husband, five kids, three cats, and two dogs. When she’s not reading or writing, she’s spending time with her family and friends.

Nothing excites Kara more than hearing from her fans. So, send her a note. She’ll go total fan girl over it!

She’d just placed another call through to Pemsky’s office, which went straight to his voicemail, when the office door opened. Halo smiled and looked up into dreamy, gold-flecked green eyes, short sandy brown hair, a slight cleft chin, and full lips set in a hard line. Even with the stern look he had on his face, my hormones jumped into overdrive.

Mr. Dreamy cleared his throat—she must’ve been staring. In her most professional voice she said, “Good morning. How may I help you?”

He removed a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and unfolded the sheet.

“I was parked in front of the Beacon Hill Ale House and my driver’s side mirror was sideswiped by one of Pemsky’s Security’s SUV’s Friday night.”

Halo loved the Beacon Hill Ale House. Every Saturday night the Ale House allowed local bands to jam together. That’s where she’d met her last loser boyfriend. She’d had a lot of loser boyfriends. She’s currently on a hiatus from dating, but she wouldn’t mind jumping back into the dating game for this dream-boat.

He handed her the piece of paper.

“I wasn’t able to get a look at the driver, but I got the license plate number of the vehicle that hit my car and drove away.”

He emphasized the last part.

“I’m very sorry about your car. I’m sure Mr. Pemsky will be happy to cover the damage.” Halo checked the company log and Pemsky’s name popped up as the driver—she gulped.

Author Bio:

Sharon Kleve was born and raised in Washington and currently lives on the Olympic Peninsula with her husband.

Sharon is a writer of paranormal and contemporary romance. She loves romance. She loves reading romance, living romance, and especially loves writing about romance. She gets no greater feeling than watching her characters come alive in each other’s arms. Most of all, she loves giving her characters the happily ever after they deserve—with a few bumps and bruises along the way.

One of her favorite things to do is picking up a new book and sinking into the story, immersing herself in the emotions between the characters. She hopes to inspire her readers the same way her favorite authors have inspired her.

When not writing, she can usually be found either curled up in her recliner with her cat and a good book, or in the kitchen baking sourdough bread or bagels.

I had a lot of fun this past week on the blog. I loved the creative work that the authors did for their posts. I loved the characters that we met and the real life heroine!

Now on to the lagniappe. If you didn’t know, lagniappe means something extra especially something unexpected. This is a New Orleans word and I don’t know if it is French, Franglish or Creole but it’s a word.

My extra gift to you is a $10.00 gift card for either Amazon or Barnes & Noble! Just let me know who you discovered this week or which book boyfriend made you say yummy! One commenter will be announced on Tuesday because we have guests on Monday.

Hi Vallory. Thanks for inviting my hero Jax from my latest book Persuasion Skills over to chill. He’s always eager to talk about his lady Pepper. Pepper and Jax are best friends and business partners. Their road to love was a long one, based on years of friendship. Jax is my favorite type of hero—a smart schemer. He has no problem using both his brain, charm and persuasion skills to get what he wants, oh boy does he want Pepper!

Me: Okay let’s get started. She’s sitting in front of the TV what is on the screen?

Jax: Sense and Sensibility. My girl has a strange obsession with Alan Rickman. I’d be jealous if I didn’t know I could out smart him any day.

Me: Hmmm. I keep forgetting that I gave you a hefty sense of arrogance. Okay moving on, you go out to eat and have a drink what does Pepper order?

Jax: Passion fruit mojito. Pepper’s family is from the Caribbean and her drink of choice is always a mojito.

Me: Okay here’s an easy one, what’s her eye color?

Jax: She’s got the warmest brown eyes I’ve ever seen. One look and you want to give her everything she asks for…well except her car keys, and an escape route…

Me: What is something you do that she wishes you wouldn’t?

Jax: Well… (Shifting uncomfortably) I can be a little bit of an…overzealous planner. Some people might consider it scheming, but I think they don’t understand the importance of a good plan.

Me: Yeah that might be the understatement of the year. Did she play any sports when she was younger?

Jax: Hey, you’re the one wrote the book. Or are you going to blame that girl Muse again. Anyway, Pep doesTae kwon do. She took lessons when she was a kid and let me just say, she didn’t let a single skill go to waste! If there’s anyone I’d want next to me in a bar fight it would be her. Actually, she would probably be the one who started the fight (rubbing his chin). I could probably stop and finish my drink and watch the carnage she’s sure to cause.

Me: Yeah she is a bit of a bad ass. Okay how about another easy question. What could she spend hours doing?

Jax: Arguing. Pepper loves a good argument and I have to admit she looks damned good when she’s doing it. Her breathing gets all hitched, and does it amazing things to her cleavage. Arguing with Pep is a great form of foreplay.

Me: I have a feeling that Pepper may take exception to your response. What is one unique talent she has?

Jax: Driving me crazy. She’s amazing at it. I think she goes out of her way to think of ways to mess with me. She’s evil and I love it.

Me: Okay, where did you two meet?

Jax: In college. I helped you out of a kind of …delicate situation.

Me: Alright last question (grinning). Who wears the pants in the relationship?

Jax: I plead the fifth on this one. What are you trying to do? Set me up? We both love control, but if it were up to me neither one of us would be wearing pants most of the time anyway.

Persuasion Skills, An Excerpt

Marching into the main room, she confronted her friend-come-raving-lunatic.

“Forget Misery. You’re in definite Psycho territory here!”

A tint of red darkened his cheeks. At least he had the decency to blush. His show of embarrassment gave her hope that there was still a chance to reason with him.

“I know it looks bad”

“Looks bad? Looks bad? Jesus, Jax, you bought a closet full of clothes!”

“I didn’t want you to get cold. You’re such a Miami girl.”

“And my shampoo?”

“I wanted you to feel at home.”

“And the drawer filled with lingerie?”

He grinned at her. Stupid, sexy dimples.

“Okay, that one was more for me than you, but you can’t blame a guy for being hopeful.”

She stared at him and tried to take deep, calming breaths.

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

“What exactly is your grand plan here? What are we supposed to accomplish trapped up on this mountain?”

He planted his arms across his chest and gave her a long, unreadable look.

“We live here for one week, like a real married couple,” he said finally.

She opened her mouth to retort, but he cut her off.

“Consider this a trial run. If at the end of the seven days, you’re not convinced we’ll be amazing together, I’ll let you walk away, and I’ll drop the whole thing.”

“I can’t just not go back to Miami, I have work—”

“I called your assistant this morning. She’s cleared your schedule for the next week.”

“My family—”

“All think you’re on a much-needed and overdue vacation. They say ‘Hi,’ by the way.”

Her left eyelid trembled. Was it possible to develop a chronic tick in a matter of minutes?

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale.

“And how exactly is a real couple supposed to live?”

“We do the things any other vacationing couple would do. We spend time with each other, go on walks, have romantic dinners.” He sent her a heavy lidded gaze. “We sleep together,” he said huskily.

Her body heated at his words, and her mouth went dry at the thought of being in a bed with him again. She let her gaze drift to his crotch and bit back a moan. He was most definitely aroused.

As if sensing her gaze, she could swear she saw his cock thump against his zipper.

She drew her gaze away from the hypnotic view as he made his way towards her with long, smooth steps.

“I’m not having sex with you again,” she said shakily. “That’s what got us into this mess to begin with. If we hadn’t slept together in the first place, you wouldn’t be proposing marriage right now.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” He placed a hand on her lower back and drew her into his warmth.

The look in his eyes had her catching her breath. Crazy Jax she could handle. Aroused Jax was a whole other story.

He leaned down and nuzzled her throat with his nose before whispering in her ear.

“The sex only helps prove my point, but I’ll make you a deal.”

Her stomach quivered at the feel of his lips at the flesh of her ear. She cleared her throat before responding.

“Does it involve you coming to your senses?”

The rumble of his chuckle vibrated up his chest and against her sensitive nipples as one of his hands smoothed down her back and squeezed her ass.

“No, but it should put you at ease.”

His meandering hand was making it hard for her to concentrate. All she could do was snort in reply, silently begging her hips not to give in and rub against him.

“For the next seven days, we get to pet each other as much as we want, fondle and taste to our heart’s content, but I won’t fuck you, Pep,” he said while nibbling at the soft skin of her throat.

It took a minute for her lust-addled brain to process his statement.

“But you said—”

He lifted his head and placed a soft, too-short kiss on her lips before stepping away.

“I said we’ll sleep together. Before we have sex again, I want you fully willing to be my wife and nothing less,” he said, a serious expression flattening his lips.

She searched his eyes, but his gaze didn’t waver. She grasped at the last life-line she could find.

“I don’t think I can be what you need, Jax.”

“And what exactly do you think I need?”

“I’m not exactly a submissive kind of woman,” she said.

She frowned as he snorted at her statement.

“No shit.”

“I’m serious, Jax. I don’t think I can be the type of woman you seem to want. Our night together was good—”

“Amazing,” he said firmly. “It was amazing.”

“Whatever, fine amazing,” she said, not wanting to go down that road at the moment. “But I’m not wired to be bossed around and told what to do. You want a submissive woman, and I’m just not that.”

He shook his head sadly at her. It hurt to see his look of disappointment, but it was what she expected. She wouldn’t take her words back because they were the truth. As much as she enjoyed him dominating her in bed she knew that the bedroom was as far as she would allow it.

“Pep, if I wanted a submissive woman, we wouldn’t even be here right now.”

“But—”

“Do I want to tie you down and fuck you senseless? Hell yeah. I can’t wait to see you bound and spread-eagled for me again.”

He reached up and cupped her heated cheeks, tilting her face up to meet his gaze.

“And I can’t wait to see your nipples in pretty little clamps, tight and hard just begging to be sucked.”

Her breathing was way past erratic, but she couldn’t look away from his heated gaze.

“But that’s where it ends. It stays with sex. I like your kick-ass attitude, Pep. I don’t want a woman who isn’t willing to argue and fight. What I prefer in the bedroom doesn’t extend to the rest of our relationship.”

Her heart sank as she saw her chances of surviving the next week with her heart unscathed deteriorate in a pile of ash.

“I don’t want to change who you are, Pep. I just want to prove that we work together. Give this week a chance,” he said.

A heavy sigh worked its way past the lump in her throat.

“You’ve got yourself a deal, Mr. Grey,” she told him.

It almost hurt to see his answering smile of relief.

“Well, Mrs. Grey, I think it’s time for lunch. How ’bout I fix you a grilled cheese sandwich and then we head out for a walk?” He pulled her back in for a hug.

She laid her head on his chest and breathed in his scent. She had a fleeting thought that traipsing around in the woods with him sounded like fun. Apparently, insanity was contagious.

“Yeah, sure. Why the hell not?”

Persuasion Skills by Laurel Cremant

In the aftermath of a major health scare, Pepper Holts makes the relief-inspired decision to seize the day. Unfortunately, most of her “seizing” involves a bit of merlot and her best friend’s pants! After a shared night of passion she realizes that her feelings for Jax are a lot more complicated than she ever thought.

Jax has finally realized that his allergy to marriage has nothing to do with the institution itself, and everything to do with the women in his bed—or more specifically, the one woman not in his bed. Her reaction to their one night together has him scrambling to regroup. So he does what he knows best—he disappears, and he thinks. The plan?—convince Pepper into staying with him at a secluded cabin for one week. One week of pretending to be a happily married couple to show her how great they could be together.

Laurel is a romance author, who like most writers loves to read. Her first love (pun intended) has always been romance. From the sappy YA romance novel to the more risqué erotica novels, Laurel is a sucker for a good love story.

Laurel writes paranormal and contemporary romance and is a self proclaimed, out of the closet nerd. She admits that she can’t seem to avoid adding a bit of “nerdology” or “geek-dom” to all of her books. Living in Miami, she also admits that she can’t seem to avoid giving her heroines gorgeous shoes, “In Miami, we worship everything strappy, open toed and just plain hot!”